Baby it's cold outside....

I'm pretty much an outdoor photographer. I've taken my share of "snow" shots, some intentional, others unfortunate. I've tried to work around dripping noses and reddened ears and fingers so numb they can barely press the button.
So Saturday I joined "Photowalking Utah" and went to an indoor photo shoot. It was crazy fun and good diversion from my current worries. Inside a church in Draper all of the trappings had been removed to set up a number of photoshoots complete with models to demonstrate natural light, strobes, wizards, backdrops, props etc.
 Me and my newest 200 best friends clamored for the chance to use equipment I can only salivate over and give direction to real models. They gave us the recipe for how to best use the lighting equipment at each station. It was open to all comers even if you only carry a point and shout camera. Here are some of the results...

 This is the "piano man", no strobes but I did have to tweak my manual settings and avoid the glare of the hot lights.

 Yes, he was waving real swords and I used the telephoto dimension of my lens to stay far enough away.

I'm standing right next to this huge light, only good for head shots, but if that's what you mostly do, then rock on.

This simulated stage, theatrical. A lot of back lighting to work around.

This was one of my favorite models. She stayed in character even when we adjusted her "jungle".

Loved shooting for detail. Check out those eyelashes.

Strobes are a lot of fun to work with. She's standing on white paper but not even a smudge of shadow shows up.

Totally retro, but representing the glamour that photography can be. So I think photowalk in Utah will be in my dayplanner more often. They try to schedule something each month and all you have to do to participate is show up. In pursuing my plan to "Live the life well-lived" I'm trying to "show up" more often in my own life instead of just going through the motions.

"One minute everything is good."

My all time favorite movie is "While you were sleeping" starring Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman. The story centers around a CTA worker who has no family to speak of so she works on Christmas day. That very day, her secret crush, "Peter" whom she has never met is robbed at the station and falls to the train tracks below. "Lucy" heroically leaps on the tracks and rolls his dead weight to safety while thinking it appropriate to comment on how good he smells. When she gets to the emergency room a misspoken comment is taken for truth and she becomes "Peter's" fiance. Before she can clear up the misunderstanding she is welcomed into "Peter's" family in a fashion reminiscent of a tidal wave flattening a beach front resort. For seven days while Peter lays in a coma, she gets to know his brother, "Jack" and all the other Callahan's. "Ox" the father figure is quick to point out, "We are in the estate furniture business, we buy furniture from dead people." In one poignant scene, following "Peter's" recovery from the coma, where he has selective amnesia because he can't remember Lucy, go figure, Ox is sharing Dunkin' Doughnuts with Jack and their conversation goes something like this..."Life is a pain. You work hard, try to provide for the family. Then for one minute everything is good. Everyone is well. Everyone is happy. In that one minute you have peace." Ox says. Jack responds,"Pop, this isn't that minute."

Lucy's next to the last line of the film is, "Life doesn't always turn out the way you plan." So my one minute when everything was good happened in Missouri as represented by the photo from the St. Louis zoo. It was a cold blustery day outside but inside it was a tropical rain forest. The next day I would fly home and learn that my mother was not a surgical candidate for tumor removal in Ogden and we would need to seek medical expertise at the Huntsman Cancer Center. More doctor's visits and more tests later, the cancer is too extensive and invasive for anything other than pallitive radiation and chemotherapy. So it is with a very heavy heart that I challenge you to be kinder than you think you need to be because Life doesn't always turn out the way you plan. Make a "special" minute today and hug someone you love.

Happy "do-over" day!!!

So we celebrate Ground Hog's day today. It's that magical day when we take our meteorologist advice from a ground hog. Ground Hog's day was made famous in cinema as the day that is repeated over and over and over and over until you get it right. Some "do-overs" are much needed. Like second chances to be kinder, more cooperative and pleasant. Some days are best not to be relived. The only thing I know for "certain" is that life is very "uncertain". The miracle in everyday is to try to do more good than bad and to leave people feeling better than how you found them. Best advice I can offer today? Hug someone you love and be nicer than you have to be.

By the way, I know this isn't a ground hog, it's just the best shot of any vermin I have. Have a good day.

Identify what you really, really want....

I recently attended a workshop for utilizing the law of attraction. The prequel work was to get clear, really clear on what you really wanted. This was hard for me. I have a pretty awesome life already.
When push came to shove here are the things that I wanted more in my life.....

Like everyone else, my goals for this year included losing some weight. You can see that I picked the magic number of 25 lbs. Not so much that I can't rock the body I have, but I do want to be healthier and I think that means slimmer too. I also wanted to take some amazing pictures this year, more brides, love to catch some bears and other wildlife, you get the picture.
Ever since this house has been built, I've wanted to change my kitchen. My children begged me not to get an island bar like our previous home. I gave in and guess what?!? Those dang children grew up, moved away and none of them live here anymore and I'm stuck with their kitchen.
I want to be successful in my "other" business with Send Out Cards so it's represented as well. And I want to travel a little bit, all in the sake of taking great pictures of course. After getting clear with what I really want... an opportunity presented itself. A chance to travel to China. Crazy huh?
Due to other changes in my family, I may not make it to China until 2013, but anticipation is half the fun of traveling. My challenge to you... get clear on what you really, really want and see how quickly it is delivered.

Make more mistakes....

I recently had a conversation with a co-worker that wanted some tips on photography. She got a new digital camera over the holidays. The best advice I can give is if you want to be a good photographer, take pictures. (that means practice) If you want to be a great photographer, take lots of pictures. (In other words, practice alot.) Not too long ago I visited Hardware Ranch in Hyrum, Ut. There wintering elk come to be fed, and for a small fee you can take a horse drawn wagon ride out into the middle of them. As long as you remain on the wagon the elk, though nervous, don't perceive you as threat. And you can take pictures up close and personal.

 With good editing you can produce some fairly good images of wildlife. At hardware ranch I had the same difficulty that I have at the zoo. Most of the animals aren't aware that they should be posing, so instead of National Geographic, it looks more like a picture book of jokes.

Keep in mind that the wagon is moving, so I am counting on the focus feature of my dslr. The above picture blurred out the grass in front of the elk, so there is a slight blur running up the center. This is because the depth of field was limited to the elk, so most things in front and behind are less sharp and clear. So why did I start the post with "make more mistakes"? Because the things that go wrong often make the best memories. My favorite shot of the day won't win any prizes and has little significant value, other than the memory.

This is a young bull elk. Most of the elk that winter at Hardware Ranch are pregnant females and their still suckling less than year old calves. The mother elk are basically eating for three so they find an easy meal in the meadow and teach their children to do the same. As the males mature, they don't frequent the meadow as often. They are big enough to forage in the deep snows. This bull elk seemed embarrassed to be seen at the meadow and had it's head buried in the straw. The shot I took is not perfect because I bumped along in the wagon I focused on the straw (in focus)  instead of the elk (less focused), but right or wrong, I captured the memory.
So if you are not making mistakes you are not trying hard enough. Be far enough outside your comfort zone that you can't perform perfectly. Flawed may not be perfect, but it is more interesting.

The "END" of course.

What do you do with a drug induced compliment?

I've been slow to blog in January because I was getting my act together. I was trying to determine the theme for my year...kind of like a prom? Should it be my year of gratitude? How about the happiness project? And resolutions for me are just a set-up for disappointment, not that I don't have goals, they just don't always have positive outcomes.

So as my followers may remember, in my other life, I am a registered nurse. I'm the nurse you meet after your surgery as you are just waking up. I'm the person that assures you that you didn't die because I'm no angel. In any case today, my male patient opened his eyes and said," has anyone told you today that you are beautiful?" Actually no, you can be the first. (Seriously, I'm not making this stuff up). General anesthetic can skew your sense of reality. The patient then told me..."yeah, you look like a young Sigourney Weaver." Thus, the avatar picture. On a good day I can pull that off. I was looking for a picture from "Alien" but I didn't want to be confused for the slimy monster. So there you have it, I can rock it as a young Sigourney Weaver, with or without blue makeup. ;D

Be someone's hero today....

    During this past week, Ogden suffered a tragedy. 6 Police officers/agents/detectives were shot while serving a warrant. Usually these things get written up in the newspaper and remain far removed from you personally. This one touched my life and therefore touches the lives of all the people I know. Professionally, I'm a registered nurse. This week someone told me I was a "hero". I don't wear a badge or carry a gun. So the role of "hero" is never one I would place myself in. It made me wonder what a "hero" really is.

These are navy nurses aboard the USNS Comfort. THey leave their families for deployment to serve people in other countries. When not abroad, they serve military men and women wherever they are stationed. Are they heros?

These are random service men and women that provide "force protection" for the medically trained personnel so that they can serve the people. Are they heros?

More military personnel. Are they heros? While pondering this question...I've thought of all the heros in my life. Sure, some of the heros carry a gun and wear a badge. Others drive my son for carpool. Some have taught my daughter how to cross-stitch. Others are skilled practitioners that can diagnose or surgically correct what ails you. Others give me a hug when they see that I'm having a bad day. So I think that maybe yes, I can be a hero. I'm the nurse that wakes you up after surgery. The one that tells you, "you made it." The one that helps you manage your pain and reorients you to time and space. So a hero then is someone that does something for you that you can't do for yourself. A policeman will protect you from criminals. A firefighter will put out a fire. A teacher will encourage your child to learn. So go out and be someone's hero today. Do for them, what they can't do for themselves. We can never have enough heros. (Cape and tights optional)